Beaming Sunlight
by YamiPaladinofChaos
Summary: [Naruto x Hinata] Storm on the horizon. Sunlight for the moment.


Naruto Uzumaki yawned and stretched out onto the grass. Training was done for the day, and it was too nice to spend the rest of the day inside, and too comfortably warm to look for Iruka-sensei and bug him for free ramen.

And he'd already antagonized Sasuke and gotten quite a few put downs and punches from Sakura for the day.

So he decided to spend it the way most boys would.

Sleeping.

The grass felt comfortable underneath him, even as errant strands occasionally tickled his ears and his neck. When that happened, he'd simply shift over, completely content.

Overhead, the clear blue skies were filled with beaming sunlight.

It was hot and still enough for even Naruto to realize there was probably a storm on the way, yet no gray clouds rained on his parade, and as long as the sun shined, he was going to lay here for a bit.

Lazily, he smacked his lips and yawned, nuzzling his left cheek into the dirt.

Now, despite being a ninja, and supposed to constantly be aware of his surroundings, Naruto was completely ignorant to the fact that there was a certain someone watching him from the bushes.

A someone by the name of Hinata Hyuuga, who had happened to see Naruto wandering off into the forest and, flushed red as she did, followed him, hoping to finally screw up the courage to speak to the boy.

Her plan had been to simply go home before the storm came, but seeing Naruto had given her a boost of courage, and a wisp of determination.

Of course, even this small amount of confidence couldn't override the girl's painfully shy nature.

Instead she was guiltily watching him from the bushes, happy beyond reason and understanding as she noticed how calm, how relaxed, and how utterly _peaceful_ Naruto was.

Something the normally hyperactive genin was not very often. And though she had watched him for a long time, one of her rather guilty pastimes, Hinata had never really seen him so...

Well, _cute._

As was her usual mannerism, she blushed at even thinking it.

Creeping a little closer to get a better view, Hinata didn't notice the rock that was lounging about in front of her left foot.

Which was why when she took a step forward, she suddenly found herself tumbling through a rather thick bush and into the tickling grass that lay beyond.

Naruto snapped to attention just in time to see a vaguely familiar head of blue hair come into view, and tumble into the grass.

After a moment of wracking his brain, he got a name to match the telltale hair. "Hinata? What are you doing in the grass?"

Flushed and relieved that Naruto was quite naive sometimes, Hinata stood shakily, blushing and brushing off grass from her clothing. With a sigh, she realized there would be grass stains that might get her in trouble back home.

"Ju-just t-t-taking a-a-a wal-walk," Hinata managed haltingly, praying that Naruto would accept her rather lame excuse.

Once again, the genin's rather naive nature showed through. "Oh. Okay." He grinned, showing his rather sharp canines and reddening the girl's face further. "I get it. You had the same idea as me, right?"

"R-right." Hinata agreed, nodding a bit quickly. "It's a n-nice day, a-after all." Her composure had returned slightly, though her stutter was still in effect.

"You want to lay in the grass with me? It's nice and comfortable, I promise!" Naruto's eager voice made it even harder for Hinata to resist.

So she didn't, and nodded, placing herself with a crimson face next to the boy, occasionally stealing a glance from time to time at him.

After a few moments, she managed a rather composed voice as she spoke again, though her voice retained that nervous softness. "Do you do this often?"

"Naw," Naruto replied, waving his hand, his grin spreading. "It's fun and all, but I barely ever have time to just sit down and relax. Can't let that jackass Sasuke beat me!" he puffed out his chest a bit, causing Hinata to smile.

Forcing herself to be brave, she spoke. "You try very hard Naruto," Hinata said, hoping she wasn't blushing again. "I... I admire that." The words were just barely above a whisper, and were shakily carried out onto the breeze.

Naruto, taken aback by someone openly admitting they felt something other than irritation or downright contempt for his very existence, smiled, a real, full smile with feeling to it. With the barest hint of a blush on his own cheeks, Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, unsure how to respond.

"Uh... thanks Hinata." He said, looking down with a smile.

Hinata, a blush on her own cheeks, looked away, mumbling, "You're welcome."

They sat there, underneath the stunningly azure sky, knowing there were storms ahead, but at this moment, there was nothing but beautiful beaming sunlight.


End file.
